Mitochondrial Dysfunction Treatment & Symptoms

Understanding of mitochondrial dysfunction and ensuing disease is a relatively emerging discipline, yet it has far-reaching implications for your health. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola in his book Fat for Fuel, damage to the mitochondria is in large part caused by the food we eat, especially the high consumption of sugars and refined carbohydrates. He purports that instead of burning fat for fuel which is much more efficient and healthy for the body, we have turned our bodies into carbohydrate burning machines that cannot utilize fat for energy. Combining this with toxins in the environment, infections, and other issues such as heavy metal toxicity, mitochondrial damage and ensuing disease is becoming more and more widespread.

Let’s explore mitochondrial dysfunction, symptoms, causes, diagnosis and natural treatment options.

What are Mitochondria?

Mitochondria are tiny, energy producing factories within our cells that can be damaged over time, leading to inflammation, chronic diseases, obesity, cancer, and more rapid aging and deterioration of mind and body. According to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, they are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed for the body as well as:

• Helping cells to carry out metabolic processes of building, breaking down, and recycling those building blocks.
• Helping make hemoglobin
• Detoxifying ammonia in the liver
• Synthesizing estrogen and testosterone
• Metabolizing cholesterol
• Production and detoxification of free radicals
• Metabolizing neurotransmitters
• Breaking down the carbohydrates, fat, and protein that we eat.

As you can see, healthy mitochondria are essential for energy and overall health and disease prevention.